A 46-year-old man has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala, said the state Forest Minister on Friday. According to police, the arrested man has been identified as P Wilson, a rubber tapper who allegedly handled explosives and also assisted others.
Major breakthrough!
— Kerala Forest Department (@ForestKerala) June 5, 2020
KFD has zeroed on the culprits and recorded the first arrest in the wild elephant death case.
"There are more people involved in this case who would be arrested soon. Police and forest officials are carrying out searches to nab the others and further investigation is on," said a senior Kerala police officer.
Police said the investigation has revealed that farmers in the area often set up a snare of fruit filled with explosives to scare wild boars, who allegedly destroy their farms.
On Thursday evening, Kerala state chief Pinarayi Vijayan said that three people were under investigation in connection with the case.
The incident came to light after a forest officer Mohan Krishnan wrote a Facebook post about the incident. The death of the pregnant elephant sparked massive outrage across the country with Bollywood actors, politicians, social media icons joining in to condemn the incident.
